


Part Human

by just_another_fandomite



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Other, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 16:38:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12657351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_fandomite/pseuds/just_another_fandomite
Summary: Cera Jane Carter is a 19 year old woman living in an American city during the early 1900’s, who works in one of the many factories owned and operated by Jonathan Morgenstern, one of the richest entrepreneurs of Western civilization. She makes an accidental discovery about one of the secrets her boss fiercely hides. The next day is when Cera is involved in a work-related “accident,” leading her to be so gravely injured that she is believed to be either beyond saving, or even dead. So nobody notices when an unknown doctor takes her damaged body to his private lab. The man, Dr. Frank Arthur, repairs Cera with robotic prosthetics and cybernetics, turning her into a cyborg. With almost half of her original self now turned to metal, Cera has a difficult time coming to terms with herself when she finally wakes up. Her new prosthetics give her enhanced abilities, and once realizing that she could put them to good use, she makes the decision to take down her corrupt boss, Morgenstern, and destroy his mechanical empire.





	1. Closing Time

God I can’t wait to get home.

My usual thought popped into my head again at the end of my work shift, just like it had yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, all the way back to my first day of working at Morgenstern Mechanics five years ago.

Not that I wasn’t happy with my job, it just tended to take a toll on you after a while. I knew it was lucky for me to even have this job, given that it was extremely difficult for a woman, especially one of my age, to find work in my city of New York. Fortunately, it seemed that my boss, Joseph Morgenstern, didn’t seem to care who he hired, as long as they were healthy and could pull their own weight. It probably helped that I was also an orphan with no other family that he would have to worry about sending reparations to if something were to happen to me in his factory.

I was appreciative of my position, but of course, there were downsides just like any other job. The pay varied low to average, depending on your work ethic; the working environment itself had its hazards, but that was to be expected in a metal-working factory full of heavy machinery; and the overseers themselves weren’t always friendly, and were intimidating to the female workers. Despite this, it was still a paying job nonetheless.

Morgenstern Mechanics was the most well-known manufacturer of interchangeable machine parts, and one of the first few to even exist. With advancements in steam power, new machines, and even new sources of fuel, Morgenstern was in high demand. He had several factories, all practically identical to the one I worked in, scattered throughout America. So it came as no surprise that he was one of the richest entrepreneurs in the country.

“Hey CJ!” my coworker, and best friend, Lynn Rose, called me by my nickname. My full name is Cera Jane Carter, so it’s not too hard to work out.

I tucked a stray strand of my auburn red hair back into my navy blue bandanna I always tied around my head for working as I grinned at her.

“Hey Lynn,” i said back as I watched her practically skip over to my station, her blond hair swinging from where it had been tied back. Everyone received a different work schedule each week, depending on what was needed and who’s skills matched each task best, and Lynn and I were usually lucky to have similar schedules most of the time.

“Now before you protest,” Lynn started, “I already told Gillian that we’ll be going to her house for dinner tonight with some of the other workers, since its Friday and we have no other plans.”

“All right, fiiiiiiine,” I sigh, in mock exasperation. I haven’t talked much to Gillian, but I know she’s nice, and is a great cook, so I know I won’t regret going. “As long as I can go home and change into something nicer than this before going,” I say, gesturing down to my drab, khaki jumpsuit that is the required uniform for everyone.

“Awesome! I’ll go let her know, and yes same here, I need to freshen up as well,” she adds with a laugh.

We joke some more as we clock out for the day, and head to our apartment building to prepare for tonight’s party.


	2. Home Sweet Home

I headed home alongside Lynn, and we had stayed late enough at the house party that we were practically the only people on the street at this point of night. Lynn and I were the kind of people that didn’t need to talk when in each others company, so we walked in mutual silence. We probably also didn’t want to attract attention to ourselves at this time of night with amiable conversation.

We finally reached our apartment building, the plain beige color visible only because of the dim streetlights. It was thanks to this building that Lynn and I met. We weren’t roommates, but were next-door neighbors on the same floor, so we were bound to meet at some point. Lynn was the more sociable one so she had started our conversations in the first place, when we happened to be doing our laundry in the basement at the same time. This was about 8 years ago, and we’ve been best friends since, so it’s no surprise that we’re at the same job together.

We slowly trudged up the stairs to the 6th floor. Well, I trudged while Lynn still seemed to have a skip in her step. That was one of few differences between me and her. She never seemed to be tired, or she just didn’t show it, and nothing seemed to really bring her down, for she always had a pleasant smile on her face. I, on the other hand, wasn’t one to display my emotions as outwardly as others, and usually kept to myself. I also didn’t like to show whether I was tired or hurting, one of the reasons being in order to avoid being labelled “weak” or “frail” by the male workers, for it happened plenty often to the other girls. But if I was tired, and there was no one around to make snide remarks, then I would walk as slow as I please.

“Well that was a fun party, don’t you think, CJ?” Lynn said, after we reached the third flight of stairs.

“Yeah, it sure was. Gillian seemed nice, and I never knew she had such a lovely home,” I replied. We found out that Gillian actually had a two-story house near the outskirts of the city, a few miles away from our apartment building. These days, not many people could afford such a house on today’s salary, but as it turns out, Gillian’s husband was a lawyer, and that was a high-paying job.

“We’ll certainly be going back, especially because of the food,” Lynn laughed.

“Oh yes, that meal was a definite improvement to our own,” I laughed in return, thinking of our low-cost food that mainly consisted of cheese, bread, and dried meat. Maybe fruit if we were lucky.

“So did you talk to Mr. Morgenstern yet about your raise?” Lynn inquired.

I sighed. “No, I haven’t. I haven’t quite got the nerve to do so yet, but maybe I’ll try tomorrow,” I said.

Since I was considered one of Morgenstern’s hardest workers, adding up over 5 long years, I was eligible for a raise. And a considerable one at that. I had told Lynn that I would share part of it with her and we would use the money to replace the old and broken things in our apartments. We both needed new beds, and the windows weren’t sealed properly against the cold, and there were various holes scattered across the cheap wallpaper. My raise could potentially help us fix all that.

“Well if it would help at all, I could go up with you for the moral support? I’ll stay right outside the door so he doesn’t see me?” Lynn offered, her smile on her face.

I couldn’t help smiling back. “That would be great Lynn, thank you. Let’s go first thing in the morning so we aren’t dragging a bunch of dirt and grime into his office,” I said. And so I don’t chicken out easily, I added to myself.

“Sounds like a plan!”

We walked the rest of the way in our mutual silence throughout the creme-colored halls, until we reached the blue doors to our rooms. We bid each other goodnight, and after a hot shower to wash the day’s dirt away, I climbed into my creaky bed and drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Calm Before the Storm

Don’t chicken out, don’t chicken out,……

I kept repeating this to myself as I walked up the metal stairs in the factory that led to Morgenstern’s office. Alone, I might add. Poor Lynn was in bed this morning with a cold. When I inquired further, she admitted to not feeling completely well the last couple days, but she didn’t tell me because she wanted to come with me this morning. So I told her to rest up and that I would be perfectly fine, so she wished me luck and I was on my way.

I was dressed in my work-issued jumpsuit, instead of a nice dress for this meeting, for it made me feel somewhat more confident, rather than small and girly. As I went to knock on the door, I noticed that it was already cracked open, enough for me to see inside to see that it was empty. Morgenstern must be attending to some other business in the factory, I think to myself. So I went inside and decided to just take a seat and wait until he got back.

Ten minutes had gone by and I was already bored.I started looking around the room, taking in my surroundings. The color scheme was boring but very uniform. Everything was placed as if on a grid, and not a single pen was out of place. Clearly, Morgenstern was a man of militaristic-level neatness, that some might even consider to be obsessive compulsive. This is why my eyes immediately rested upon some papers that had fallen on the floor next to his black filing cabinet.

Being the person I am, helpful yet curious, I walked over to the papers and knelt to pick them up, thinking I would place them neatly on his desk instead of them staying scattered on the floor. As I went to set them down, something caught my eye. I started to read feverishly before I could stop myself, and then dropped the papers in horror.

I barely had time to process what I had just read before I heard footsteps marching up the stairs. Snatching the papers off the floor, I laid the papers back on the desk just as Morgenstern walked in the door. I spun to face him, hoping he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, and plastered an innocent smile on my face.

“Good morning, Miss…. Carter…. Is it?” Mr. Morgenstern peered at me warily. He was a man who looked to be in his late 30’s, with black hair that was starting to gray on the sides slightly. He always wore a business suit to work, but took off the jacket as soon as he arrived, leaving him in his crisp, button-up shirt, suspenders, and pants. Today, the shirt was dark blue and the suit pants were dark gray.

I could feel my hands becoming clammy as a nervous sweat started to form. “Yes sir. And good morning to you as well,” I said as pleasantly as I could manage.

“What brings you to my office this early, Miss Carter?” he asked, as he walked stiffly to his desk and sat down, not before glancing quickly at the papers.

“Well…. I hope it’s not any trouble….. but I had heard that, uh, I was perhaps eligible for a, um, raise?” I tried to keep the slight tremble out of my voice, and kept my chin raised.

“Ah, yes. I shall look into it, and you can come back to my office after your shift today to finalize it,” he said, his tone showing that he vaguely remembered this subject.

“Oh, thank you very much, sir, yes I’ll be back later, thank you,” I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I’d been holding. I quickly started towards the door and was almost out when I heard him call me back.

“Oh, and Miss Carter? What were you doing with these papers on my desk?”

I froze for half a second before turning back to him as calmly as I could manage. “Oh, I just noticed them on the floor while I was waiting, and I figured they had fallen off your desk, so I put them back,” I realized I had started talking faster, and I hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“Very well, you may go now,” he dismissed me with a wave of his hand, but I couldn’t help noticing the suspicion glinting in his steely blue eyes.

I closed the door, then speeded to my work station to start today’s shift as I mulled over what I had read in those papers.


End file.
